The PlayStation 4 controller and console on display during the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in June.

Bloomberg News

Sony Corp. will offer its answer to that question later on Tuesday when it discloses new details regarding the coming launch of its PlayStation 4 console at gamescom, a videogame trade conference held annually in Cologne, Germany.

While Sony has revealed the new machine’s specs, features, and price, the company has been vague about the launch date, saying that the PS4 will be out in holiday 2013. The company’s press event is expected to provide more exact timing on when the new console will hit the market, with a likely release sometime between late October and early November. It remains to be seen if Sony will break with tradition and launch its new PlayStation product first in a market other than Japan.

Sony is trying to sustain the initial buzz surrounding the PlayStation 4 after winning over the crowds in June at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the videogame industry’s annual trade show, by announcing a lower price for the PS4 versus Microsoft Corp.’s forthcoming Xbox One console and looser digital rights management policies.

Last week, Microsoft announced that it scaled back the scope of its Xbox One launch in November from 21 countries to 13. It still plans to meet the November launch timing in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Japan and nine other markets, but it pushed back the debut in eight countries including Russia to 2014.